November 11, 2003

A robot baby orangutan named Lucy may someday tell us about how the cerebral cortex works and help people develop and build new computational architectures inspired by biological systems, according to Steve Grand, Lucy’s creator and author of Growing Up With Lucy: How to Build an Android in Twenty Easy Steps (Weidenfeld & Nicolson), due out in January.

November 11, 2003

Pharmacogenomics, or “personalized medicine,” which involves using genomic knowledge to tailor treatments that best suit the individual patient’s needs, could significantly improve treatments for cancer and other major killers.

November 11, 2003

By mid-century, some countries may have life expectancies approaching 100 and life expectancies might approach 130 by 2050, predicts Dr. James Vaupel, director of the laboratory of survival and longevity at the Max Planck Institute for Demographic Research.

“There is no fixed life span…. From 1840 until today, the life expectancy in the countries that are doing the best has increased two and a half years per decade.… read more

November 11, 2003

November 11, 2003

While lacking a coherent framework, scientists are making progress in mapping the correlations between brain activity and behavior.

New imaging tools reveal circuits and overall patterns of activity as people solve problems or reflect on their feelings. Genes expressed in mouse brain cells are being mapped so that researchers can begin to find out if neurons that look alike have different proteins and functions. A magnetic device can knock… read more

November 11, 2003

An attempt by developing countries to put management of the internet under United Nations auspices is likely to be shelved at next month’s world information summit in Geneva — but the issue is now firmly on the international agenda, summit sources say.

Defenders of the status quo say handing over power to governments could threaten the untrammelled flow of information and ideas that many see as the very essence… read more

November 11, 2003

“Origami,” a virtual studio that allows actors to interact with computer-generated characters and creatures in real time, has been developed by the BBC. It should lead to a new generation of programs and films made with advanced special effects at relatively low cost.

It overcomes the limitations of chromakey. The action takes place within a virtual landscape created inside a computer amd projected onto the walls and floor of… read more

November 10, 2003

“Nanotechnology and Homeland Security” (by Mark Ratner and Dan Ratner, Prentice Hall, due out this month)focuses on defense applications of nanotech, such as sensors, smart materials, and ethods for thwarting or disabling biological or chemical releases. It also covers environmental, energy and social/ethical implications of technologies that could evolve from protective to intrusive.

November 10, 2003

SenseTable, by James Patten of MIT’s Tangible Media Group project, aims at conceiving better human-machine interfaces by using the concept of physical objects that the user can manipulate to represent abstract computer data and commands.

The device looks and works a lot like what was envisioned in Minority Report. It uses pressure to track blocks on a sensitive surface and feeds back to the user by superimposing graphical data.

November 10, 2003

RFco is one of several start-ups developing low-power chips that combine digital and analogy capabilities. The goal is to unify various data and voice technologies, including cell-phone transmission formats, wireless Internet access, and Bluetooth, into a single chip.